First Peoples Child & Family Review
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“No one cares more about your community than you”: Approaches to Healing With Secwépemc Children and Youth
No full textThis paper shares stories from multigenerational Secwépemc and Indigenous healers (including social work and counselling practitioners) with Secwépemc kinship ties. Each Secwépemc and Indigenous healer works with Secwépemc and Indigenous children and youth in Secwépemcúlucw, the land of the Secwépemc Nation. The work is a form of “ancestor accountability” (Gumbs, 2016), as it is one that is embedded in our kinship relationships and our learning on the land together with our children, family, and Elders. Through the methodological framework of Steseptekwle – Secwépemc storytelling – together with Red Intersectionality, these stories are examples of new tellings, or restorying, of the Snine (Owl) story that not only illuminate the ongoing resistance to colonial power, but also of the resurgence and reinstatement of Secwépemc ways of addressing wellness and healing
Breaking The Cycle of Trauma - Koori Parenting What Works For Us
No full textObjective: To develop an understanding of parenting strategies used by Aboriginal Australian parents impacted by colonisation and other forms of adversity to break cycles of trauma within families.
Design: “Yarning circles” involving qualitative interviews with six Aboriginal parents were conducted. Parents who identified as having experienced childhood histories of trauma and historical loss were asked about parenting strategies that helped them to break cycles of intergenerational trauma. Interviews were transcribed and independently coded by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal psychologists who worked for an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.
Results: Parents identified over 100 strategies associated with parenting and breaking cycles of trauma. Some strategies aligned well with research on the protective effects of safe, stable, nurturing relationships. Other strategies focused upon domains of culture, community, and history, and addressed issues such as family violence, colonisation, and the intergenerational links between trauma and parenting. The strategies were collated into a community resource that could be used by other Aboriginal parents.
Conclusion: Parental histories of colonisation and interpersonal and intergenerational trauma can have a significant impact on kinship networks and community environments that Aboriginal parenting practices are embedded within. Parents who identified with having managed to break cycles of trauma reported using a wide range of successful parenting strategies. These strategies serve a diversity of functions, such as parenting approaches that aim to directly influence children’s behaviour and foster wellbeing, manage family and community conflict, and manage parental histories of trauma and trauma responses in ways that mitigate the impact on their children
Connecting Myself to Indian Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop
No full textThis is a joint work between my Mom and I. It begins with a story passed down to my Mom about my grandfather’s experience at an Indian Residential School. My Mom asks me questions about the story and I respond, learning more as we talk. We ended up writing back and forth to one another over a few days to complete this. I found it very important and educational to write about.
We share this story fully acknowledging it is only one story, and it is shared with the intent for learning. I have heard many people say Residential Schools happened a long time ago. My mom started to share this story several years ago with primarily non-Indigenous social work students to demonstrate how Residential School and the Sixties Scoop impacted the five generations she speaks of in the story. My brother’s first day of school became a much bigger moment for her and my Mushum.
We share this story with deep respect for all the families who were impacted by Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop. We stand with you and support all of your voices and recognize many of you have lost far more than we have. For all our non-Indigenous family and friends, we share this with respect for you as well, and to foster better understanding and as a step towards reconciliation. This is our truth.
Corresponding author: Noela Crowe-Salazar at [email protected]
Foreword: First Peoples Child & Family Review, Volume 14, Number 1, 2019
No full textThe first issue of the First Peoples Child & Family Review was published 15 years ago, in 2004. From then on, this journal has provided a respected platform to share knowledge generated by Indigenous researchers, graduate students, community members, youth, and non-Indigenous allies and supporters. It has been a great privilege to promote the outstanding research, critical analysis, stories, standpoints, and educational contributions that have appeared in our journal over the years. In celebration, we have chosen to publish this special issue which features a reprint of 15 of our most popular contributions. All of our published contributions – which, at the time of this writing, amounted to just over 300 – have inspired the discussion about and, in many cases, directly influenced innovation within child, family, and community-based matters for Indigenous peoples in Canada and abroad. Therefore, it was not easy to decide upon which articles to feature in this issue. Ultimately, we selected 15 contributions based on the total full-article downloads, which happens to pleasantly reflect the life-span of the journal. Readers will find that the wisdom shared in this issue is just as relevant today as it was when the contents were first published – although often in new and surprising ways.
Four general themes emerged during the editing process. This includes the sharing of Indigenous ways of knowing and Indigenous ways of being in the world; advice for conducting respectful research with and for Indigenous peoples and communities; challenging the status-quo in child welfare, social work, and family services; and documenting the effects of colonization and the power and strength of Indigenous peoples and communities. I present these themes more as a matter of utility than as a true reflection of reality. The truth is that all things are interconnected and, therefore, the articles featured in this issue can be interpreted as a representation of each of these themes and, I am sure, quite a bit beyond them as well. Each time we travel around the circle, we bring new experiences and knowledge – in a sense, we are in a constant state of renewal – and new patterns emerge. As you read this celebratory issue of the First Peoples Child & Family Review and re-visit some of our most popular articles, I hope you will enjoy the process of discovering new wisdom
Family Counselling as Decolonization: Exploring an Indigenous Social-Constructivist Approach in Clinical Practice
No full textIn Canada, Indigenous peoples' lives are shaped by relationships with their families. These relationships are defined by traditional Indigenous conceptions of connectedness with the earth, communities, and the many relations that occur within these contexts and are based on what is termed Indigenous ways of knowing. These relationships are also described through a concept of Western social constructivism. Social constructivism is an ideal mate for Indigenous ways of knowing in the practice of family counselling because it recognizes the importance of culture and context in understanding what occurs in human interactions when constructing knowledge based on this understanding. Indigenous ways of knowing have been of recent and growing interest to family mental health practitioners and policymakers who are seeking to support clients in decolonization processes. Family service providers who work in a Western social service or health care setting have an interest in exploring forms of sociocultural theory and practice, such as Indigenous ways of knowing, in order to address and further the practitioner-family interaction and to benefit both individuals and communities in a responsible and sustainable manner. Using current and historical literature, this article presents a summary of issues and guidelines for a hybrid approach that brings together Western and Indigenous approaches for family service workers (such as counsellors, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists) and a set of guidelines for practical application. Implications of how these practices can positively impact and promote community mental health in the current climate of recovery from colonialism and cultural genocide are presented
Animkee
No full textIn my video, I (James Schlonies) tell the story of how I struggled when I was younger. I went through all mental health services available in my town, but sometimes I just felt worse after. When I was in grade 7, I started going to M’Wikwedong. My family and I received help from M’Wikwedong to cope with what I was going through. Drumming helped me learn to speak up for myself. Now I am a member of the Board of Directors at M’Wikwedong and I am an advocate for other youth in my area. This video was created through a research project entitled: Promoting healthy urban environments for young Indigenous peoples: The case of M'Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource Centre. The research team was formed by the M’Wikwedong Youth Group (Ryerson King, Kaitrina Harrisson, Steven Schlonies, Nikita Jones, and James Schlonies) and the Centre for Environmental Health Equity at Queen’s University (Carlos Sanchez-Pimienta and Jeffrey Masuda). This video displays a previous iteration of the name of this project. M'Wikwedong recently changed its name to "M'Wikwedong Indigenous Friendship Centre."
Equality
No full textThe grade 3/4 and grade 7 class at Ross Drive Public School worked together to learn about treaties, Shannen Koostachin, and Shannen’s Dream. The students were asked to think about what a safe and comfy education might look like and why it is unfair that Shannen Koostachin had to fight for this right. To learn more, visit www.shannensdream.ca.
Aboriginal Youth Talk About Structural Determinants as the Causes of Their Homelessness
No full textThis article explores structural determinants as possible causes of the homelessness of Aboriginal youth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It includes a brief literature review and provides some of the findings of a recent research project, which implemented an Aboriginal research methodology with homeless youth in Toronto. These findings point to a strong link between Aboriginal children growing up in poverty and involvement in child welfare and becoming homeless as a youth. Suggestions for positive change at the policy-level are offered in order to prevent the next generation of Aboriginal children growing up to become homeless youth
Contemporary Practice of Traditional Aboriginal Child Rearing: A Review
No full textThere is a dearth of literature available on traditional Aboriginal child rearing. This review paper explores Aboriginal child rearing to determine if traditional practices are still in use, how these may differ from mainstream child rearing and may have been modified by mainstream influences and colonialism. Traditional Aboriginal parenting is discussed in the context of colonialism and historic trauma, with a focus on child autonomy, extended family, fatherhood, attachment, developmental milestones, discipline, language, and ceremony and spirituality. This review was completed using the ancestral method, i.e., using the reference list of articles to find other relevant articles and more structured literature searches. In light of the high number of Aboriginal children in foster care, this research may serve to highlight the role that historical issues and misinterpretation of traditional child rearing practices play in the apprehension of Aboriginal children. It may also assist non-Aboriginal professionals when working with Aboriginal children and their families
Fair and Unfair Education
No full textThe grade 3/4 and grade 7 class at Ross Drive Public School worked together to learn about treaties, Shannen Koostachin, and Shannen’s Dream. The students were asked to think about what a safe and comfy education might look like and why it is unfair that Shannen Koostachin had to fight for this right. To learn more, visit www.shannensdream.ca